On The Road Again

We returned from our mission to the Africa West Area (Ghana) Dec 11, 2012 and four months later we were leaving Provo headed for southern Utah to begin our second mission.

See our new blog at GnSPowell-HC74.blogspot.com

Farewell to Africa West Area

It’s hard to believe that our 2 year mission has come to a close. This past Thursday (Nov 22) we spent an afternoon celebrating Thanksgiving with other senior missionary couples, expatriates who work at the Area Office, and the Area Presidency.  The Director for Temporal Affairs checks a frozen turkey in his luggage when returning from October conference and so we are guaranteed a turkey for our Thanksgiving dinner plus everyone prepares some part of the feast.  Sometimes we have to be creative as ingredients are not always available but we try to have the traditional dinner.  Stephaney made the sweet potatoes this year which were provided compliments of one of Elder & Sister Dickson’s daughter’s who was visiting earlier this month from the States. The dinner is hosted by and at the Area President’s home.
     
Since this would be our last FHE with the Area Presidency, we were presented our kente cloth banners.  Each couple is presented banners that have been woven with names, the dates served and the area. The pictures show us with the Africa West Area Presidency and then with their wives.
 
Last Wednesday (Nov 28) the Area Presidency took us to dinner at Captain Hooks for a farewell dinner.  Two members of the Area Presidency were traveling the next day and the other member would be on annual leave before they were back.  It was a bit early but the latest we could do it and have everyone there but the DTA.  His wife represented him. Great atmosphere and food but even better company. Sister Powell made the selection of the restaurant so that we could enjoy their calamari. She resisted trying it when we first came to Ghana but really enjoys the breaded calamari.

 

Last Sunday (Dec 2) we picked up the senior couple that will be serving as the Executive Secretary and Assistant Executive Secretary when we leave.  We have spent the week training them on all their duties.  We took this welcome and farewell photo.

The area presidency secretary has been a real friend to us. I believe she and Sister Powell have a special bond.  Sister Powell taught her the classic saying, “See you later Alligator”, After while crocodile” to teach her son.

 

Yesterday (Dec 8th) we had our Hail and Farewell lunch at Chase’s Restaurant in Lebone. We missed several couples who were not able to attend due to travel but . We welcomed the Fitzgeralds, the second couple on the left, and we said good-bye to many wonderful couples who continue their service here.
 
Today (Dec 9th) we took the Fitzgeralds to church at New Legon. Brother and Sister Ahadjie invited us to dinner at their home.  Brother Ahadjie was recently released as an Area Seventy.  His wife has been the Area Travels Manager whom we worked with routinely.  She has served in this position for over twenty years.

Monday (Dec 10th) there was an employee Christmas devotional and lunch. The senior sister missionaries, temple missionaries and expatriate wives sang a song during the devotional.  It just so happened to be the day we would fly home. 

 

That evening Elder and Sister Klein, the senior couple who are serving as welfare specialists took us to their home which is near the airport and we enjoyed a light dinner before they took us to the airport.  They are so fun and helpful.
Eleven PM Ghana time we boarded our 7 hour flight to London.  Arriving at 5:25 am we then had 5 hours to wait for our flight to Dallas.  Our 10:40 am flight was late leaving but we were finally on our way to Dallas and the USA.  Ten long hours later we arrived in sunny but cool Dallas.
We got to our home about 7 pm and settled in for a much needed night’s rest.  Wednesday we met with President Ward and he released us.  It’s an amazing feeling. When you are leased you definitely feel you have lost something.
One of the reasons we came back to Dallas before going to see our children first was to see the completion of a challenge issued before we left be realized. Even though I did not baptize anyone while on my mission I did baptize a sister I had been working with before we left.  One picture was taken with the lights off due to the sensitivity of her eyes to light. This was indeed a marvelous event considering the many health issues she deals with daily.
 
Added to this joyous event we witnessed the baptism of another brother that I challenged to be ready to be baptized by the time we returned. We learned just before we left for the states that he was going to be baptized as well. Both happened the same day at different times. I may not have taught or baptized anyone while on this mission but we did see two wonderful people baptized as a result.

We will add a couple more items, but this is our last time blogging about our mission to Africa West Area.  What a remarkable experience we had.Thank you for letting us share it with you! 

Ground nuts

I have developed a taste for “ground nuts” here. We decided to make one last visit to the roadside stand where we always buy them. The pictures below are taken there. They look like small peanuts and in every way are peanuts. There are two main types of groundnuts: the American groundnut (Arachis hypogaea), and the African groundnut, the Bambara nut (Voandzeia subterranea). Both are grown in Western Africa as a protein source.

I have enjoyed buying them every few weeks. 

   

We have never tried their peanut butter (sanitary conditions are in question) but it looks like the genuine thing. Bottles we have seen are a bit thin in consistency. The bagged item for sale is plantain chips which are good and are very popular here.

   

We have seen them hand sorting through the harvested nuts. Then they roast them over an open fire. Then they throw trays full in the air to get the husks off. The pigeons grow fat on the cast off nuts.  It is all done right there on a busy street corner. The center picture shows the lady filling the bottle we bought.

     

So even though they have been roasted I roast them again at home, in the hopes of killing any remaining or newly introduced parasites, etc. You will note how they fill the bottles. One of the last things we before departing is to de-worm. We take medication that is suppose to kill any parasites or worms that we have likely picked up while living here.

Takoradi & Busua Beach

A couple of weeks ago we traveled by chartered bus with the Area Presidency and Mission Presidents to Busua Beach Resort for the Mission Presidents’ Seminar. While the actual distance was only about 170 Km it took 4 hours to travel there because the roads are narrow and heavily traveled.

 

Stephaney and I followed in one of the Area Presidency’s cars as the 1st Counselor had a Mission Tour in Cape Coast following the seminar, so he needed his car there after the seminar.

 

We stopped in Cape Coast about half way so the Mission Presidents could tour the Cape Coast Slave Castle.  We had toured it before, and once is enough.  After, we had lunch at a restaurant next to the castle that is very popular.  We took a few pictures of the coast while there.

   

The hotel was very nice. The rooms were quite comfortable. Just across from our room was the beach.

   

Sister Powell is playing hide and seek with the lizard on the back side of the tree trunk.

 

The setup for the meeting was pretty typical – this is our 4th and final seminar.

 

After the conference we had the chance to tour a cocoa factory or visit a rubber processing plant.  The cocoa factory was an hour ride on the bus so we elected to learn about rubber which was a 15 minute drive. 

After viewing some slides of the process we donned coats and hard hats for a tour of the processing plant.

 

Rubber is harvested the same way as maple.  A tap is placed in the trunk of the rubber tree and a cup under the tap to collect the sap.  Rubber tree farms collect the rubber sap in cups that are emptied and loaded into trucks which transport the rubber to the processing plant.  The trucks are weighed loaded and then when empty to determine the net weight.

 

The rubber is then dumped in storage bins much like corn bins where they sit for a couple weeks before they are processed.  What is interesting is that the raw rubber is white, and spongy like a rubber ball and when dropped bounces just like a rubber ball.

 

 

The rubber goes through several steps to separate out debris and impurities by grinding it into coarse and then finer pieces. These are eventually combined into sheets of rubber.

       

The rubber is then compressed into 85 lbs. blocks and loaded on trucks to be shipped to tire manufacturing plants. This rubber processing plant sold their rubber to Michelin and Bridgestone tire companies.

  

We had a great time at Busua Beach.  Occasional rain but it was very nice and sunny the last day. We are on the left in the picture below which shows all 10 Africa West Area Mission Presidents, the Area Presidency and their wives, and other support staff.